Thursday, January 29, 2015

So, I'm not exactly leaving on a jet plane, just leaving...temporarily.
Saying goodbye to the life I know for a little bit. This weekend I'll be going to Tennessee for awhile. Just me. If life had a reset button, that's what I would call this.

I'll write more about it when I'm able to put it all into words a little better.

So far this week I've been able to spend time with some amazing friends.

Melissa and I have been friends for over 20 years! She was my very first friend when my family moved to KY. We have been through everything together, and she still loves me! :)

Being silly. Yes, that is what you think it is.

My precious friend, Kat. She just recently moved to my town, and we met through our husband's, who work together. This girl. I could sit and talk to her for hours and hours. Love her to pieces.
We're going to start running together soon. I have to convert all my friends, ya know!

Yoga pants and coffee. Yes!

I even got to love on her adorable, squishy love bug. I just wanted to keep him!

I am so blessed!!
I will miss my friends and family like crazy, but I know this will be good for me. It's just what I need.

Because of my knee pain, I've been taking some time off from running. I have just been walking on my treadmill. Let me tell you, it is SO hard to walk! I have to really concentrate and not let myself start running.
Monday I will try running again. I know TN has some gorgeous trails and parks, I can't wait to go exploring.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Friday evening we were supposed to get a 'dusting' of snow, but I woke up to this.

6" of snow!
Now y'all know I hate snow and cold weather, so I waited until noon when it had warmed up to 40 degrees to start what was supposed to be my long run of 16 miles.
But...that didn't go quite as planned.

I've talked about my knee pain before, so this time I made sure to wear my brace, hoping that would help. But it didn't. The pain was so bad, that I could hardly do 4 miles, and I walked a lot of it.

The crazy thing is, last weekend I ran 13, with no pain! But then all of my shorter runs last week were very painful. I've noticed that when I do my strength training dvd's, I can't even do squats or lunges.

I think I've said before, I know what the problem is. I guarantee it's because of my weight gain. I never had knee problems when I was 25-30 lbs lighter. So I really think that's the cause of it.

If I didn't have a marathon in 7 weeks, I would probably take some time off from running, and really focus on losing this weight and doing another kind of cardio for awhile.

But...I HAVE A MARATHON IN 7 WEEKS! You guys, I had to cancel my last THREE marathons because of my torn tendon injury, I do NOT want to cancel another one!! (Sorry I'm yelling a lot)

Gahhhh....I don't know what to do.

A couple weeks ago I talked about choosing joy, so this is my chance. I'm going to try with everything in me to still be able to do this marathon, and will be devastated if I have to forgo another one.
But if I have to, I will set my sights on my next race, the Carmel marathon, which is in 2.5 months.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Saturday's 15 miler ended up only being 13. My body just did not want to take one more step, so I listened.
I think I know what the problem was though, and thankfully my knees didn't hurt at all. The previous week I did not run one time. Not once! And I was supposed to have done a total of 16 over the week.

If I don't train right during the week, I can't expect my body to do what it's supposed to on long runs.
Lesson learned, I will do every single mile this week, so I can be prepared for 16 next Saturday.

Here's a few things I bring with for my long run:

Gatorade Endurance. I usually drink this on my way to the park. I really feel like it's gives me an extra boost of energy. I also eat a PB&J on wheat bread before every long run.GU or Honey Stinger gels. I tried the salted caramel GU for the first time, it was SO good. I've heard the peanut butter and the watermelon are good too. I need to find those!
I take a gel 15 minutes before my run, and then every 5 miles after that.

I carry my hand held water bottle with me, and put my gel's in the zippered pouch. Then of course my Garmin FR10 and my tunes!

For Saturdays long run I wore calf compression sleeves that were sent to me from Run Forever Sports.

I can't tell you how amazing these are. My calves did not get sore once! Even after the run, they weren't sore. I will definitely be wearing these from now on.
I have several pairs of ProCompression socks, but they are so incredibly hard to put on and take off, that I don't even mess with them anymore. But these were wonderful.

They are for men or women and come in 2 sizes. They relieve shin splints and prevent cramps in your calves. Of course they're not only for running, but for any kind of activity!
They are under $20, but if you use my code ZQQBNF4V, you can get 40% off! Order them here.

When I get home after my long run, I make a protein shake to replenish everything!
Lately I've been using the Diet & Weight Loss powder from My Protein.

They have a large variety of protein bars, powders, vitamins and supplements. Pre-workout, Post-workout, meal replacement, ect.
The Impact Diet Whey chocolate powder that I use is very good, not chalky at all, and mixes easily.
I make it with almond milk, a banana and some PB2. It is deelish!!

And then I usually crash on the couch and take a nap. :)

How do you prepare for a long run?Do you wear calf compression sleeves? If not, would you like to? (Thinking of a giveaway...)

Friday, January 16, 2015

1. I had dinner with a friend at Longhorn Steakhouse this week, and had one of the best dishes I've ever had. Balsamic raspberry seared chicken. It has a white wine butter, goat cheese crumbles and a balsamic raspberry drizzle. I am now on a search to recreate this amazingness. The really good thing about it is that it's on the light menu!

2. Boots! I forgot that I had 2 credits from JustFab from a couple years ago. Thankfully I was still able to use them. (How could I forget that??) Boots are my favorite part of winter.

3. Last week I was sent a 90 day workout to review called Fe Fit. It's a workout 'for mom's', 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week.
I've been doing it 4-5 days a week. The first few days seemed really easy, and I felt like I needed to do another workout just to work up a sweat. But I can tell as I get further into it, it's getting more challenging.

The only annoying thing is the leader keeps saying all this stuff about "mommy' and 'mom's'. It drives me crazy. Why does it have to be for mom's, why not just 'women'??

I'll do it for the full 90 days and let you guys know how it goes! I can say, it's probably been 6 months since I've done any kind of strength training, so these sore muscles feel awesome!

4. As you know, one of my goals this year is to lose the 30 lbs. I gained last year. So far, I've lost 4- 26 to go!
I have joined Abby's DietBet to help me out. I've heard a lot about Diet Bet's, but never joined one. When she invited me to join hers, I thought it seemed like a great opportunity to stay motivated and win some cash! She's even giving away some cool prizes. Wanna join us? It starts on the 26th, and lasts for a month.

5. Tomorrow's long run is 15 miles! Lately my knees have been really hurting when I run. I have no idea what's going on with that. I'm just hoping I can do this pain free. Tomorrow the temp will be in the 50's and sunny, I can't wait!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

I'm sorry you guys, this post has nothing to do with my marathon training or anything like that. It's more personal.
I've alluded some to what I've been going through the past year, how I want a baby, but my husband doesn't. My year was full of mistakes, struggles, depression, and realizing this is a dream that will never happen for me. That thought is still very overwhelming for me and it's a pill I haven't quite swallowed yet. Because of all of that, I gained back the weight I lost (30 lbs), and my running suffered greatly.
This year I have determined, NO MATTER WHAT- I choose joy. I will die if I have another year like 2014. I will not make it through. So I am choosing to find the good. I am choosing to be thankful. I am choosing to look to God for my strength, because I can no longer do this on my own.

I'm going to share an email from my friend. I don't know if anyone else is going through this too- miscarriages, infertility, any of that. But if so, I hope it encourages you. Hopefully someday, when all of this is a distant memory, I can share my whole story and maybe help someone else get through it.

Katie!!!!!
Girl, how do you do it?
I am so blessed with (daughter) and yet I want another baby so badly. But
after my last miscarriage I have not been able to get pregnant. People are constantly
asking why we don't have another baby and we must not be trying hard enough!
I broke down and cried. (Husband) doesn’t think it's a big deal because we
already have one.
Ahhhhh it's so hard Katie! How do you keep your smile?

My reply:

Oh my darling ****,
You don't see my bitter tears that never end. Every time I see a baby, I cry.
When I found out that 3 of my sisters were pregnant, I had a breakdown. I want
a baby more than I want breath.
I know your pain. I know how hard it is. I know the crying and the alone
feelings, I've gotten all the comments. About a month ago, when Annie was pregnant, someone told
ME congratulations, thinking I was her. I always wondered what that would feel like.
I know, doll. You are not alone.
This I also know- God is good. He has good plans for us. If our earthly fathers
know how to give their children good gifts, how much MORE does our heavenly
Father know.
As we go through this, all we can do is hang onto Him. He is our rock and our
strength.
Look to Him, and you will find that he puts that smile on your face, even when
your heart is weeping.

AND forget those people who say ridiculous things like that to you. I just want to smack them.
They're just clueless.

I had to throw in that last paragraph...because COME ON! I am just appalled at some comments people make!

For now, I just take a day at a time. I don't know what tomorrow brings, or where I'll be, but for TODAY I choose joy.

Monday, January 12, 2015

I did my run on the treadmill instead of braving those temps. 25-30 degrees outside is about as low as I can go! Thankfully, I love my tm. I have to find something good on Netflix to keep me distracted though.

Twinnie and I got in some retail therapy. In case you didn't know, Bath & Body Works is having ridiculous sales right now. I think I have enough smelly goods to last me for the whole year!

For the first time ever, I am SO into football. It's kinda strange, because I never have been! Not saying I understand how football works AT ALL, but I still love watching it and cheering on my teams.
I must admit, I became a Packers fan only because I have a sister who lives in WI.
I became a Colts fan only because I used to live in IN.
I became a Broncos fan because of Manning. (Yes, last night I cheered for both teams, it was hard)

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Thank you all so much for your messages, words of encouragement, love and prayers for my Twinnie, Annie, during this hard time. She's doing really well.

We've been able to spend lots of time together lately, and it has been wonderful. I read all of the messages from "my people" (yes, that's what I call you guys) to her, and they really cheered her up. So, thank you!!

I've still been training for the Asheville Marathon in March, although I don't remember now what week I'm on- I don't keep track. I've been doing lots of treadmill runs, but this weekend I was able to get outside for 5 miles, it was 60 degrees!

Now, for the giveaway!
I was recently sent some PB2 from Bell Plantation. They sent me the original powdered peanut butter, and the chocolate peanut butter.

I LOVE this stuff. I add it to my shakes, smoothies, or if I'm just craving a spoon of peanut butter.
Mix 2 Tbs. of PB2 with 1 Tbs. of water, and voila- guilt free yumminess on a spoon.
No preservatives or artificial sweeteners.

Compare traditional peanut butter to PB2.

I am giving away 2 sets of PB2! That means 2 winners will each receive a regular PB2, and a chocolate PB2.
Enter the Rafflecopter below. US only.

Friday, January 2, 2015

I hadn't yet mentioned this on my blog, not because I'm not ecstatically happy for them, but because it has been hard for me.
Three of my beautiful sisters are pregnant, including Annie, my twinnie.

Gracie is due in February, Charlotte in May, and Annie in July.

Last night Annie had a miscarriage. She was 13 weeks along.

As soon as she called me, I raced over to her house. (I mean that literally, I got pulled over on my way there. Thankfully the cop was very nice and understanding)

She and her husband had just left for the hospital. My mom was already there, staying with her other 3 kiddos.

Her other children are ages 12, 10 and 8. Oh, my heart just broke for them. After 8 years, they all just assumed this was it for their family. So needless to say, this 4th surprise was so so wanted, and everyone was SO excited.

I'm so glad I was able to be there. I loved on them and wiped their tears. We all cried and prayed together.
And then we played games! Endless games of "I spy", Uno and Go fish.

Maia (the 8 year old) told me she and her mom had recently seen the new Annie movie. She wanted to sing me her favorite song.
She started singing "The sun'll come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun. Just thinkin' about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow til there's none. So you gotta hang on. The sun'll come out tomorrow!"
Man, it was hard to hold back the tears.

My precious twinnie is home from the hospital. Now begins the mental and emotional healing.
It is so true that twins can feel eachother's pain. My heart is broken in a million pieces.
But I know she'll get through this, we'll all get through it.